FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!

lizzstewart

I just dont know what to do anymore. Im trying to lose about 30lbs. I have been using my calorie counter and staying under the 1200 calories a day, working out 5 days a week doing weights and cardio, and taking a diet supplement, all of this for about 3 weeks, and have not shed 1 single pound. Its really frustrating to stay motivated when im not seeing any results at all. What am I doing wrong?!?!?!?!?

tigersword

Staying under 1200 calories and exercising 5 days a week?

Very simple, you aren't eating nearly enough. 1200 calories is the bare minimum for basic body function, if you're eating under that, and then burning extra calories on top of that, your body is hanging on to every single calorie for dear life.

laurad8911

not eating your exercise calories.

rharris86dc

Definitely eating WAY too little. Up the calories and I bet you see a loss soon!

CelenaOlson

Not counting your inches lost!

birdlover97111

I agree with tigersword. You are starving yourself.

KHaverstick

I can relate. But what I've found is that it usually takes me four to six weeks to see any actual weight loss. And in the beginning, I may even see weight gain, since muscle weighs more than fat. Have you taken measurements to see if you're losing inches? Have you noticed a difference in the way your clothes fit?

I'm sure lots of people will chime in with advice. For one thing, I would say make sure you're not actually eating UNDER your daily allowance of calories. That can put your body in starvation mode, and your metabolism will slow down. Also, I've found that changing things up is helpful--not only to help me see results, but also because variety helps me to actually stick with it when it gets frustrating. Good luck!

Italiandoglover

Eat back ALL your exercise calories. It may seem counter productive but you will lose weight by eating more calories than you think. Your body is going into starvation mode if your minimum is 1200 and you are burning an extra 300-500 calories, your body needs the 1200 to survive, so if you are eating less than 1200 plus burning calories you are actually killing your body slowly. Just eat back your exercise calories and your body will thank you for it on the scale

triashlete

Hey Lizz,
If you are working out and only taking in less than 1200 cal per day, you may be putting your body into starvation mode.
If you are working out, supplying your body with proper nutrition/enough calories, then it could be that you have been loosing body fat and increasing muscle mass (the saying that muscle weighs more than body fat is TRUE!)
Make sure that you are being honest about your quantities of food taken in and the amount of exercise/intensity you are working at, if you are doing cardio, purchasing a heart rate monitor may be a good idea to help you get a better understanding of where you are at for intensity (and a more accurate caloric reading, because I find that some of the numbers provided on this website are a bit generous as well as the predicted calories burned on cardio machines)
Hope that helps, patients will pay off!!!

ceschwartz

Also make sure your goal weight is a reasonable goal weight...it might be...just thought I'd throw that in there for consideration.

keeponkickin

I just dont know what to do anymore. Im trying to lose about 30lbs. I have been using my calorie counter and staying under the 1200 calories a day, working out 5 days a week doing weights and cardio, and taking a diet supplement, all of this for about 3 weeks, and have not shed 1 single pound. Its really frustrating to stay motivated when im not seeing any results at all. What am I doing wrong?!?!?!?!?

Without even looking at your diary I can tell what's wrong. You aren't eating enough. You should never eat below 1200 and always net 1200. I made the mistake of not eating my exercise calories. Worked at first as I had a lot of weight to lose but now I have to eat my exercise calories. Make sure you're eating enough or your body will slow down you're spinning your wheels and getting nowhere.

Mustangsally1000

so, if you have read all of these, you know you are not eating enough fuel. Your body is in starvation mode. Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound is a pound is a pound. However, muscle is when helps you burn the fat. How hard are you working out? Are you working so hard you are in an anaerobic state? You need to be in an aerobic state to burn fat, not carbs.

suzooz

It's true -- you need to feed your body to lose weight (which is somewhat counter-intuitive).

I just broke a plateau by varying my calories last week -- a couple of days even ate at the "maintenance" level. I had lost 27 pounds and stayed there for 6 weeks (after averaging about 1 pound / week weight loss). This week, I decided to feed my body a bit and drink more water -- guess what? 2 pound loss this week!

ohnuts14

A friend of mine suggested this to me because I suddenly stopped losing weight for a month, and as soon as I took her advice I dropped 2 lbs. Her advice; zig zag your calories. Varie each day by like 200 calories or so. Like yesterday I had about 1600 I think, today I'm going to try to do 1400. Also, like everyone else said, I viewed your diary and you're eating way too little. On most days you're not reaching 1200.

lizzstewart

Ok well from what I have been able to tell, im just not eating enough. Im actually having less that 1000 net calories at the end of the day, some days as low as 500 net. Plus my husband is in the Army and I work out with him and my brother-in-law so they push me very hard, but I even made them do a spin class a few days ago. I will try and increase my calorie intake and hope I will start seeing some results.

LynnKeefer

I'm so sorry to hear your frustration and I can certain understand it. You're really working hard and definately not eating enough. I too have pounded my head against the wall recently. I decided that losing weight just didn't need to be so hard. So this past week I decided to let go of any outcomes. I did Yoga daily and Qi Gong a couple of days - so nothing terribly strenuous - never ate less than 1200 calores a day (but not going too far over either) rarely at more than 30g of sugar and lost 3.6 this week. I now have less than 20 pounds to lose. Hang in there! Wishing you a better days ahead! xxx

2Bgoddess

>>>"a pound is a pound," but muscle is more dense. a pound of fat takes up more space than a pound of muscle. that is why you can loose inches even if the scale shows no difference. weight is different then volume. just sayin.